Pathogens of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis change in northern China.

Objective: To determine the identity of microorganisms isolated from patients diagnosed with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP).

Methods: We reviewed cases diagnosed with SBP over a 14-year period. The medical records of 780 SBP-diagnosed patients with decompensated cirrhosis and ascites admitted to Tangdu Hospital, Xian, Shaanxi Province, China were retrospectively reviewed between January 1996 and December 2009.